Wednesday will give investors a fresh reading on consumer demand, hiring and inflation pressure as Disney and Uber report earnings before the opening bell and the Institute for Supply Management releases its July services survey.
Uber is scheduled to report second-quarter results before trading, followed by an 8 a.m. ET conference call. Investors will focus on whether ride demand and delivery orders held up as fuel costs rose, along with pricing, driver incentives and the company’s ability to expand margins.
Disney will release fiscal third-quarter results before the market opens and hold its earnings call at 8:30 a.m. ET. The report will test spending at theme parks, streaming profitability and the strategy under Chief Executive Josh D’Amaro as higher travel costs pressure family budgets.
The economic calendar begins at 8:15 a.m. ET with ADP’s private-employment report. After Tuesday’s decline in job openings, the data will help show whether companies are still adding workers or whether caution is beginning to reach payrolls.
At 10 a.m. ET, the July ISM Services PMI will provide the broadest reading of activity across the part of the economy responsible for most U.S. employment. Businesses will be watching new orders, hiring and prices paid for evidence that higher energy and labor costs are being passed through to customers.
The Energy Information Administration will release weekly petroleum inventories at 10:30 a.m. ET. A large change in crude or gasoline stockpiles could challenge Tuesday’s sharp decline in oil prices and quickly affect refiners, transportation companies and inflation expectations.
The central market question is whether lower oil prices can continue supporting stocks while earnings and economic data confirm that consumer demand remains intact. Weak hiring, softer services activity or renewed pressure on crude could reverse Tuesday’s record-setting rally.
JBizNews Desk | Wall Street
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